KEF 107 vs Aerial 10T

[Hawkeye83]

Anyone heard both KEF 107's and Aerial 10T's who can weigh in? I know the Aerial is newer...most consider "newer" higher end better than "older" higher end. They have a very similar look to them, with the separate mid/high "head" units.

I currently own the 107's and I absolutely love them but am thinking about selling them in order to buy the 10T's. Is the 10T in another league, as some have suggested? Unfortunately it's going to be hard to pull off an audition before purchasing. Maybe that alone tells me I shouldn't do it...a speaker purchase in the $2k range probably shouldn't be taken lightly, especially if it requires selling some speakers that are pretty special as well, and that I know I love!

I should mention that the KEF's are 100% restored...re-capped, re-foamed, ferrofluid replaced in the tweeters, KUBE "upgraded," cosmetically excellent.

 

[WmartinB]

I heard the 10T's a few months ago, nice speakers but they didn't have the same magic as the 107's for me

 

[cratz2]

Never heard the 107s but I have to say -- for me -- among reasonably-priced speakers -- the 10ts are my favorites that I've ever listened to, overall. Thiel CS3.6s are a reasonably close second and the B&W Silver Signatures in third.

I will say that I'm more into jazz, classical, acoustic, singer/songwriter (esp female) type stuff. Meddle - Animals Pink Floyd and Donald Fagen are about the heaviest I regularly go so for someone that that is their lighter fare, choices may be different.

 

[Goggle1824]

Go for the Aerials (then move the KEFs up here to me).

Honestly, I need to finish restoring my Epicure 1000 towers before I do ANY more "collecting", but I'd definitely like to hear a set of those KEFs sometime.

 

[Isotonic]

I believe that the Kef 107s are in that category of uniquely good. I have never heard a speaker that sounded remotely like them. They are very very special. I recently aquired a pair of Monitor Audio Studio 60's. They are also a remarkable speaker but completely different. In some ways better than the Kefs, but there is still something magical about the Kefs that I would have a hard time giving up.

I have also done the full restoration on my Kefs. It was labor intensive. And in another 10 or so years I will have to redo the donuts, surrounds. I'm not looking forward to it. But my Monitor Audios have rubber surrounds and no capacitors in the signal path.

 

[Hawkeye83]

From basically all reports I've heard, it sounds like they are both very special speakers. Gotta love those "can't lose" situations! Likely I will end up staying with the KEF's, if nothing else for logistical purposes. The Aerials are like 12 hours away...but I do have a business trip coming up which would take me in their general direction, so thought I'd kick the idea around.

I'm currently listening to my Quads but I think I'm going to go give the KEF's a turn.

Monitor Audio Studio 60's, never heard of them (I have heard of Monitor Audio). Will have to check them out!

Luckily I did not have to do the restoration on my KEF's. They were re-done in 2013/2014, so I should be good as long as the surrounds hold up! I'm hoping the new foams are made of a different material that holds up longer...we shall see!

Thanks all for input so far! I was kind of expecting everyone to say the Aerials should blow the KEF's away, honestly. Probably very few that have actually heard both.

 

[cratz2]

I've read many more positive comments on the 107s than negatives but a bit further down the ladder, the more detailed KEFs such as the 105/2s have an edge to them. I might not call them harsh, but the sounded like a perfectly designed speaker had been EQed by someone who didn't quite know what they were doing. The 10ts have none of that.

Again, I've never heard the 107s and, while we all have our preferences, I can't quite imagine one model of speaker 'blowing away' another in a similar price range as long as both are similar dynamic designs.

 

[Rasputin]

Never heard the 10T but I have compared the Aerial 7B to KEF 105 and 107 and I like the Aerial better than either KEF. Seems a touch faster and more immediate. The 107s do have a bit more low end extension on paper but that was not that noticeable in my setup. The other thing that is in Aerial’s favor is that the woofers don’t need refoaming like the 107. I’ve never been a fan of the coupled cavity approach and, to me, having to refoam those hard to reach woofers every dozen or so years is a major PITA and showstopper no matter the benefit.

 

[Hawkeye83]

Never heard the 10T but I have compared the Aerial 7B to KEF 105 and 107 and I like the Aerial better. Seems a touch faster and more immediate.

Thanks for the input! I felt adding the Townshend Audio Maximum super tweeter to my 107's gave them exactly that...a touch faster and more immediate! Would still love to hear Aerial some day.